


it's a novel thing, this love

by ElasticElla



Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: F/F, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 11:11:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4057819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nelly has almost everything she’s ever wanted- Blair’s spot at Yale, Jordan’s WWD reporting position, and a beautiful apartment that is <i>not</i> a part of her parents’ half of tribeca. But there's still something missing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's a novel thing, this love

Nelly has almost everything she’s ever wanted- Blair’s spot at Yale, Jordan’s WWD reporting position, and a beautiful apartment that is _not_ a part of her parents’ half of tribeca. She wanted Dan too- once Blair’s and a few times Serena’s- and she’s gotten better at getting what she wants, at taking without permission. 

But Dan doesn’t want her. It feels like highschool all over again, and she throws herself into her work. She writes up more articles and top ten lists than can be used, storing the excess away as though any of the pieces would still be viable to run in a month, or even a week. It doesn’t matter though, it works and she stops thinking about how big her bed feels at night. 

Then Jenny Humphrey comes back into her life to confuse her again. 

“Nelly!” she exclaims, honestly sounding excited. “I had no idea you’d be the one interviewing me. How have you been? And I love your dress- Rachel Zoe?” 

“It is,” Nelly answers, wanting to preen but doesn't recalling the last friendly classmate turned interviewee. “I’ve been doing very well, yourself?” 

“Yeah, the open air’s been good for me. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” 

Nelly can’t help her lips from thinning, “No. Let’s get started, shall we?” 

Jenny’s eyebrows jump, but she pulls a rack closer to them. “So this is my fall line…” 

The interview continues without a hitch, and Nelly can’t figure out why the other girl was laying it on so thick before. She files it away under things that simply don’t matter, and has her piece half drafted by the time the interview’s over. 

“Can I take you out to dinner?” Jenny asks once the notebook is shut, looking younger than ever, hope held in her expression. 

“Some people would read that as bribery,” she points out, gathering her things. 

“Oh, no, I- can I call once the article’s been printed then? I’d love to catch up.”

Nelly tries for a neutral expression, “Sure, you have my number.” 

The article isn’t printed for a week, her editor wanting the leaves a little redder before a fall interview comes out, and Nelly has been trying not to think about who may or may not call her. She tells herself that it was just another of Jenny’s ploys- she hadn’t been Jenny from Brooklyn for quite some time, and Little J could hold her own against Blair Waldorf. Reminding herself that this is Dan’s little sister, it’s easier to believe she won’t call. Or even if she does, nothing will come of it beyond perhaps a glass of wine.

So the call doesn’t come as a surprise, and she hates that she’s been waiting for it.

“Nelly! Are you still in the area? I’d love to buy you a drink.” 

She isn’t, and she certainly doesn’t want whatever pity drink is being offered, but her lips still form agreeing words, and she’s driving back upstate. One day, she won’t agree to whims from her past. 

Jenny greets her just as brightly as the time before, and already has a gigantic pink margarita with two swirly straws. 

“You still like strawberry-kiwi right?” 

Nelly concedes, a wry smile forming, “That I do.”

The tequila helps ease conversation, and by their second oversized drink, some nostalgia creeps in. 

“Why did you never really become queen?” Nelly asks, twirling the blue straw. “We would have followed.” 

“Not where I wanted to lead,” Jenny answers with a snort. “And then I tried to play both sides… well, leaving was good for me.”

For the first time, Nelly actually believes her full stop. So she doesn’t push, only nods, and sips the margarita. 

“Tell me about Yale,” Jenny demands playfully, so she does. Later, much later, in the night she’ll shower off the day and remember Jenny’s hungry eyes as she listened. And for once she’ll find someone she wants without another in the way.


End file.
